New! 2025 BACKROADS OF HIROSHIMA

October 28 – November 7, 2025  ( 11 days & 9 nights)

Haneda , Hiroshima, Miyajima Island, Hiroshima Orizuru Tower, Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Park, Otafuku Sauce Factory, Wood Egg Okonomiyaki Museum, Kamotsuru Sake Brewing Company, Kamoizumi Brewery, Calbee snack factory, Mazda Stadium Hiroshima, Kurashiki, Bikan Historical Quarter, Okayama, Korakuen Garden, Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Museum, Ibo-no-ito Museum, Nunobiki Waterfalls, Kobe, Iga Ninja Museum, Okage Yokocho, Nabana so Sato, Nagoya, Toyota Kaikan Museum, Nagoya Castle Honmaru Palace, Obara Paper Art Museum, Haccho Miso Village Museum, Schmaglev & Railway Park, Mentai Park Tokoname, Nagoya

$100 EARLY BOOKING DISCOUNT
(deposit of $100 per person received by 6/30/2025)

Tuesday, October 28  (Day 01)
HONOLULU TO HANEDA
Our tour commences this morning when we assemble at the Japan Airlines Lobby #5 at the airport for baggage check-in procedures for our flight to Haneda International Airport.  A meal and a snack will be served on board the flight.

Wednesday, October 29  (Day 02)
HANEDA TO HIROSHIMA
We’ll arrive Haneda Airport in the afternoon and after clearing entry and customs formalities, we’ll transfer to Haneda Airport Domestic Terminal for our flight to Hiroshima.  On arrival, we’ll transfer to our hotel to check-in for four nights.

Accommodations at ANA CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HIROSHIMA or similar

Thursday, October 30  (Day 03)
HIROSHIMA  (B)
We’ll take a short ferry ride to Miyajima Island, famed for its scenic Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  With a large torii gate extending into the sea, the shrine, and the island’s Mt. Misen-san as a backdrop, Miyajima Island is classified as one of Japan’s three most beautiful sights.  Enjoy strolling through Omotesando – the island’s main shopping street featuring many shops offering a nice selection of souvenirs, including Momiji manju, one of Hiroshima’s most popular sweet.  This maple-leaf-shaped cake is made with a variety of fillings, sweet red beans, custard, chocolate and more.  This afternoon, we’ll visit the new Hiroshima Orizuru Tower, offering a great aerial view of downtown Hiroshima area and the A Bomb Dome.  We’ll continue on to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Park.  Exhibits and displays within the museum relive the history of the atomic bomb and the destruction it brought on Hiroshima and its people.  The most poignant memorial in the Peace Memorial Park is the Children’s Peace Memorial, inspired by leukemia victim Sadako Sasaki.  Thousands of colorful paper cranes brought by school children, club organizations, and groups are displayed there. 

Accommodations at ANA CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HIROSHIMA or similar

Friday, October 31  (Day 04)
HIROSHIMA  (B)(D)
We’ll make a special visit to the Wood Egg Okonomiyaki Museum, located adjacent to the Otafuku Sauce Company, a major producer of the famous okonomiyaki sauce.  The building features a giant wooden structure resembling an egg.  Enjoy a tour of the factory and experience  a hands-on opportunity to cook your own famous okonomiyaki delicacy. This afternoon, we’ll visit Kamotsuru Sake Brewing Company, a sake brand name in business for 150 years in Saijo, one of the major sake production areas.  The name Kamotsuru translates into brew (Kamo) and crane (Tsuru).  Within the same area, we’ll visit Kamoizumi Brewery, one of the newer breweries in the sake-making region of Saijo.  Dinner will be provided for you this evening. 

Accommodations at ANA CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HIROSHIMA or similar

Saturday, November 1  (Day 05)
HIROSHIMA  (B)
Enjoy another day in Hiroshima.   We’ll visit the Hiroshima Calbee Snack Factory, noted for its many types of chips including their most popular product, Kappa Ebisen.  You can learn more about the making of this product using shrimp from the Seto Inland Sea as one of the secret ingredients.  We plan to make a stop at the Aeon Mall for lunch and brief shopping time. This afternoon, we’ll visit the Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium Hiroshima, home of the Hiroshima Carp professional baseball team.  Subject to confirmation, we will enjoy a guided tour of this newest NPB ball park.   Dinner will be on your own this evening.

Accommodations at ANA CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HIROSHIMA or similar

Sunday, November 2  (Day 05)
HIROSHIMA * KURASHIKI * OKAYAMA  (B)
We’ll travel to the historic town of Kurashiki to enjoy a stroll through the Bikan Historical Quarter with many souvenir shops, boutiques, cafés and museums lined along the picturesque Kurashiki River Canal.  We’ll continue on to spend the night in Okayama, capital city of Okayama Prefecture.  Enjoy a stroll through Korakuen Garden, noted as one of Japan’s three best landscaped gardens - designated as a ‘Special Place of Scenic Beauty’.  The garden features seasonal flowers, a large pond, walking paths and a crane aviary.  Dinner will be on your own this evening.

Accommodations at HOTEL GRANVIA OKAYAMA or similar

Monday, November 3 (Day 06)
OKAYAMA * KOBE  (B)(L)(D)
We’ll continue on to Okayama visit the interesting Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Museum to see some of the finest cutting weapons ever produced and how they are made and maintained.  Subject to availability, we may be able to see a master swordsmith at work.  We’ll continue on to visit the Ibo-no-Ito Somen Museum to observe the manufacturing process of somen (thin noodles) from raw dough to the finished product.  Subject to availability, a tasting corner is available for you to taste some of their delicious somen.  We’ll visit the Kobe Nunobiki Falls - considered as one of the ‘divine falls’ together with Kegon and Nachi Falls.  Nunobiki waterfalls is a collection of four stunning waterfalls:  Ontaki, Mentaki, Tutsumigatadaki and Meotodaki with an important significance in Japanese literature and art.  We’ll spend the night in Kobe.  Dinner will be provided for you this evening at a local restaurant.

Accommodations at DORMY INN KOBE MOTOMACHI or similar

Tuesday, November 4  (Day 07)
KOBE * IGA * ISE * NAGASHIMA ONSEN  (B)(D)
This morning, we’ll travel to Iga City, visiting the Iga Ninja Museum, an excellent museum delivering a comprehensive ninja experience.  The exhibition halls display ninja tools, gadgets, costumes and weapons.  A special ninja performance features authentic ninja skills and weapon, including a demonstration of using throwing stars.  We’ll continue on to Ise in Mie Prefecture to enjoy a visit through Oharaimachi and the Okage Yokocho, a small district featuring various shops and restaurant, located adjacent to the Ise Grand Shrine.  This approach way is lined by many traditional style buildings and shops.  One of the specialties to try is akafuku (red happiness), a Japanese sweet made of mochi rice paste and red bean paste and Ise Udon – thicker udon noodles in a thick sauce.  We’ll spend the night in Kuwana city.  After checking in at our hotel, we’ll visit Nabana no Sato, one of Japan’s finest and most famed winter illuminations, lighting up the darkness of the night and creating romantic images of mountains, oceans, flowers, shapes and figures among flower gardens.  Enjoy a walk-through the Tunnel of Light, the Cloud of Lights and every year, one of the flower gardens is transferred into a fairyland-like dazzling display.  We’ll return to the hotel to enjoy a delicious dinner in the evening.

Accommodations at HOTEL NAGASHIMA or similar

Wednesday, November 5  (Day 08)
NAGASHIMA ONSEN * NAGOYA  (B)(D)
This morning, we’ll travel to Toyota City to enjoy a tour of the Toyota Kaikan Museum, an interesting museum to discover Toyota’s new approaches and advancements to vehicles with advanced technologies.  Learn about the mechanisms of cars and the development and manufacturing processes.  We’ll continue on to view Nagoya Castle, one of the largest castles in Japan.  One of the main features of the castle are the kinshachi (golden dolphins) adorning the main ridge of the castle roof, signifying prosperity.  We will visit and enter Honmaru Palace, located on the grounds of the castle, regarded as the finest masterpiece of modern castle architecture in Japan and designated as a National Treasure.  We’ll spend two nights in Nagoya.  Dinner will be provided for you this evening at the hotel.

Accommodations at NAGOYA MARRIOTT ASSOCIA HOTEL or similar

Thursday, November 6  (Day 09)
NAGOYA  (B)
Obara Japanese paper is a special craft of Toyota City’s area where dyed plant fibers are used to create illustrations as the paper is being made.  The Art & Craft Center at the Obara Paper Art Museum, showcases this precious art form.  Try your hand to make Japanese ‘washi’ paper with illustrations, Japanese characters or leaf and cutout patterns– a fun and educational experience for everyone.  Haccho Miso, produced by Kakukyu, is made in giant wooden vats using only soy beans, salt, and water as raw ingredients with natural river stones stacked on top of each other like a pyramid on the vats.  The miso is aged for two years in this traditional way.  We’ll visit the Haccho Miso Village Museum, that exhibits the miso production methods and you can enjoy tastings of Hatcho Miso and red miso.  We’ll return to our hotel to spend the night.  Dinner will be on your own this evening.

Accommodations at NAGOYA MARRIOTT ASSOCIA HOTEL or similar

Friday, November 7  (Day 11)
NAGOYA * HONOLULU  (B)
After checking out of the hotel, we’ll visit the SCMaglev and Railway Park, a railway museum in Nagoya city, owned by the Central Japan Railway Company.  The museum features full-size railway vehicles and a bus exhibit, train cab simulators and model railway dioramas.  We’ll continue on to visit the Mentai Park Tokoname, a theme park dedicated to mentaiko, a flavorful Japanese delicacy made from marinated pollock roe.  One of the highlights is to observe the production process and see how fresh mentaiko is prepared.  We’ll transfer to the Nagoya Chubu International Airport for our evening flight home to Honolulu, arriving in the morning on the same day due to the crossing of the International Date Line.

The tour price is based on double occupancy and a minimum group size of 20 passengers.  Fare adjustment may apply for groups of 20 or under.  The rate is based on tariffs and exchange rates effective 5/12/2025.  Tour fare is subject to change according to any airfare increases, additional fuel surcharges and fluctuation of the rate of exchange between U.S. and foreign currency.  In the event of revaluation, the land portion of the tour price may adjusted prior to your final statement.  We reserve the right to revise the content of the itinerary due to unforeseen issues, weather, and safety concerns. 

 Land portion based on 145 Yen = $1.00 U.S

2025 General Conditions
Tour Registration Form